Wake Up
by Night Rain Illusion
Summary: But sometimes, Judai can't shake the feeling that there's something wrong. Post Season 3; Judai-centric


At first, I wasn't going to put this up here, but then I figured "eh, why not?" Anyway, this is Post-Season 3, like immediately when they get back. Although, it's been a while since I've watched GX, so I apologize for inconsistancy.

(Insert usual disclaimer that says I don't own it here)

**Wake Up**

Everything's back to normal.

But sometimes, Judai can't shake the feeling that there's something wrong.

They were back at Dual Academy, back from that other dimension. Everyone is back too. Even those he recklessly let get killed.

Johan is back. He's his normal, happy self and when he's around, Judai can pretend for a little while that everything is fine and always has been.

It isn't.

Something's changed. He has. He's no longer the happy-go-lucky kid he was before; now he's more brooding and seclusive. His mind is now filled with ancient spirits that plague his thoughts; there's no more room for the happy-go-lucky kid, who is forced to become more aggresive and less happy in order to keep his mind from being overrun by them and being cast out; an empty shell for the spirits to control.

And even if he didn't have things like Yubel and Haou in his head, there's no way he can go back to being the way he was before. He's gone through too much, has watched too many people die; some by his own hands, in order to go back to pretending that there wasn't a care in the world and that any problem can be settled with a duel. But now that he has everything back to the way it should be, he can get through another day waking up with a smile like before.

But one morning, he wakes up, and senses, for the first time, that something's missing. He stands in the room, puzzled, trying to figure out what it is. The voices in his head aren't helping as they throw out suggestions here and there; he even has to pretend to ignore Hane Kuriboh for a second because whatever's missing is important, and yet he has the feeling that it's something that he's been ignoring for sometime and has only just noticed that it's missing.

He suddenly notices his duel disk sitting nearby on the desk, and he vaguely wonders if one of his cards is missing. He checks, but they're all there, exactly as he left them the night before. He shrugs, maybe it isn't that important. In fact, besides this small, odd feeling of emptyness, he feels great. Better than he has in quite a while. He feels something familiar, something reminiscent of the happy-go-lucky kid of yesterdays that would walk with a spring in his step as he sought out the duel for that day.

In fact, he feels up for a duel right now. It would certainly take his mind off things. And thus, smile firmly in place, he turns and says, "Hey Shou..."

Except he is only greeted with silence. His smile falters as he realizes, for the first time, that he is alone; has been alone in the room since waking up.

It's strange. Normally, when he wakes up, Shou's always there. In fact, usually it's Shou waking him so that he doesn't miss class or the sandwich draws on weekends.

As he stands there in the empty room, he is filled with disjointed memories of the past few weeks. He sees himself politely declining a get together with Shou and Kenzan; instead opting to hang out with Johan for the day. Another day goes by and he instead chooses to be left alone rather than hang out with his other friends. They seem to move counterclockwise, going backwards as he continues to, without realizing it, push his other friends besides Johan away since coming back from the other dimension.

The old days of yore, of before they had gone to the other dimension leak in as he sees himself happy with his friends, but he also see's Shou moving farther and farther away and he notices, for the first time, that Shou no longer calls him 'his Aniki', except for the usual greeting in the morning.

_"Morning, Aniki. You better wake up or you're going to miss class!"_

He was going to miss those days.


End file.
